The invention relates generally to the field of automation control systems, such as those used in industrial and commercial settings. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to techniques for providing, accessing, configuring, operating, or interfacing with input/output (I/O) devices that are configured for coupling and interaction with an automation controller.
Automation controllers are special purpose computers used for controlling industrial automation and the like. Under the direction of stored programs, a processor of the automation controller examines a series of inputs (e.g., electrical input signals to the automation controller) reflecting the status of a controlled process and changes outputs (e.g., electrical output signals from the automation controller) based on analysis and logic for affecting control of the controlled process. The stored control programs may be continuously executed in a series of execution cycles, executed periodically, or executed based on events. The inputs received by the automation controller from the controlled process and the outputs transmitted by the automation controller to the controlled process are normally passed through one or more I/O devices, which are components of an automation control system that serve as an electrical interface between the automation controller and the controlled process.
The individual components of the I/O devices (e.g., a base, a terminal block, an I/O module, and so forth) may be removable from each other to provide modular interactivity between the components, which enables a greater degree of customization of the automation controllers in which the I/O devices are used. However, conventional components of I/O devices are configured with certain functionalities that do not change when the components of the I/O device are assembled together. Rather, to change the functionality of a given I/O device, as one example, a particular I/O module may be removed from the I/O device and replaced with a different I/O module that provides different functionality. As such, this requires removal of the components of the I/O device, which can inadvertently lead to disruptions of connections (e.g., of the field wires that connect the I/O device to a field device, of electrical connections between adjacent I/O devices, and so forth). Furthermore, certain functionality may often be preferred between I/O component combinations. For example, when a particular type of I/O module is connected to a particular type of base, a given functionality set may be particularly beneficial, whereas the same functionality set may not be as beneficial when used with a different module-base combination.